A contemporary resort with vertical gardens and an ancient temple at its heart lends a truly distinctive character to Alila Seminyak, making it the newest addition to the beachfront in Bali’s hip resort destination.
The design maximizes the resorts' privileged location offering stunning ocean views at every opportunity while maintaining an atmosphere of privacy and individuality.
The hotel is designed to be a secret garden in the buzzing district of Seminyak, Bali.. A distinctive blend of contemporary architecture, woven through with vertical greens, wall-hugging plants, green roofs and landscaped terraces, designed to enliven the senses. Green spaces abound, replicated in corridors, lobbies and all public spaces, naturally ventilated by ocean breezes. And when it comes to accommodation,, Alila Seminyak’s 240 rooms and suites, including one 811 square metre, three-bedroom penthouse, offer a spectacular experience.
Housed in four separate buildings throughout the resort, the rooms and suites express contemporary style, composed of thoughtfully designed and usable spaces. All rooms are designed to maximize views and are furnished with sliding doors, wide balconies and sun shading screens that blur the distinction between inside and outside thus enabling guests to fully embrace the beach side experience of this property. Against this canvas of timeless elegance, a touch of the destination can be found in unique details such as custom designed lamps and furniture using a contemporary interpretation of Balinese batik and design motifs.
Beyond its aesthetic appeal, Alila Seminyak’s design is also grounded in sustainability and a celebration of its locale. Alila Seminyak is the first resort in Indonesia to surpass the rigorous EarthCheck Building, Planning and Design standards. This means that Allila Seminyak (particularly in Australasia and Indonesia) is a leading development regarding sustainable development and long-term ecological improvement performance.
The hotel has been designed to the most stringent standards of sustainability. During the construction of the hotel, URBNarc worked closely with the landscape architect and the construction team to clean up the adjacent drainage canal and worked with all the neighbours to create a sustainable solution for keeping the drainage canals clean. Vettiver grass and other plant species that help naturally clean the water of effluent material were planted strategically. Roads and pathways have been designed with little to no concrete to allow for maximum ground water recharge. Local plant species that in turn attract the local micro fauna of birds and butterflies have been planted strategically through the property in line with the concept of creating a secret garden.
Sensitive site planning included the preservation of the local landowner’s family home, and an ancient ancestral temple that has stood on the site for generations. The temple was integrated into the resort’s design, framed as a central focal point for the entire property, providing the landowner and his family continued access to make their daily offerings, while also affording guests a unique glimpse into Balinese traditions.
The preservation of these features provided inspiration for the overall resort layout, which is based around the concept of a Balinese family compound. The resort comprises a cluster of individual buildings positioned around the central temple, connected by an open-air garden corridor - a contemporary reflection of traditional Balinese compound life that merges seamlessly with its environment. Besides the temple and shrines maintained around the property, other traditional Balinese elements are discreetly embedded throughout, such as local artwork in the lobby, restaurant and gardens, and landscaping with native plants.
Use of local building materials, and the incorporation of environmental, energy and resource-efficient systems are also integral to the design. All architectural, landscape and interior finishes are made entirely from local materials. These include certified recycled or reclaimed Ulin timber used for screens and pool decks, local Batu Jogia stone for balconies, and terrazzo for flooring made by independent village craftsmen.
A key feature of the hotel is a bespoke vertical timber screen that serves multiple purposes of privacy, solar screening, and as a back drop for creating vertical gardens that are an integral part of the building articulation. The pattern of the screen is also applied as a recurring motif in the sky lights, corridors, rooms, floors, signage, finishes, furniture, lamps, art and stationery creating a common thread stitching this hotel.
In addition, Alila Seminyak’s open plan layout is designed to maximize the use of natural cooling, shading and daylight to reduce energy use, taking advantage of natural sea breezes, with no air conditioning in public areas. Thoroughly modern yet paying tribute to tradition, Alila Seminyak raises the bar in terms of resort design, innovation and sustainability, delivering spectacularly on the hotel operator’s reputation for offering guests a surprisingly different experience.
Bali
Indonesia
PT. Anaamaya Mitra Selaras
10/2015
38350 sq. m
URBNarc Pte Ltd
Gaurang Khemka, Alejandro Moran, Maverick Lariosa, Vebriyani Valentina, Abhishek Mathur, Agung Pamudji, Rika lam, Karolina Vaisnoraite, Anita Rahman
PT Acset Indonusa
Salad Dressing Pte Ltd, Hadi Komara & Associates, Atelier 6 Structure, Arnan Pratama Consultants
Aaron Pocock, Alila Seminyak and URBNarc
Curriculum
URBNarc was founded by Gaurang Khemka with a vision to design sustainable and complete environments – exceptional communities, places, spaces and buildings. Our expertise is designing for special situations where a unique historic, natural or urban environment requires a thoughtful and innovative solution using an integrated approach to Master Planning, Architecture, Landscape Design and Interior Design by bringing the best professionals and a global pool of talent together.
We won the global competition for designing The Singapore Indian Heritage Centre in collaboration with RGSA, completed in May 2015 and won the Singapore Institute of Architects 2015 award in the institutional category. We are also the architect and interior designer for Alila Seminyak, Indonesia. The 240 room, 5-star beach resort has won 3 International property awards for Design and Construction, is a finalist for the AHDA and WAF awards and also been accredited as a Green Hotel by Earth Check.